


Unchained

by FanficsbyVe



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Other, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-23
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-05-03 02:30:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5273165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficsbyVe/pseuds/FanficsbyVe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After her untimely death, Mileena struggles to escape the Netherrealm and the yoke of Kitana. Takes place after Mortal Kombat X. One-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unchained

“Show yourself, abomination.”

Mileena has stopped counting the many times she has heard these words out of Kitana’s mouth. It has been a constant for this…last month? Half a year? A year? An eternity? She does not know how long her soul has festered in the Netherrealm by now. Time is so hard to measure in a place where there is no true sky. A single day seems endless and ever since her death in Outworld, her life has become an endless loop of hellfire, shadows, dark magic and the almost maniacal taunts of the woman she once referred to as her sister.

Of course, she knows better than that now. Kitana is not her sister, at least not in a biological sense. Though their genetics are almost identical, safe for her own Tarkatan blood, she is a construct from Shang Tsung’s flesh pits. A less than perfect clone made to replace her sister should she ever betray Emperor Shao Kahn. No wonder Kitana sees her as a threat. Even now, when the Usurper Kotal sits on the throne and she is naught but a wandering lost soul. Her bitterness and hate runs deep and even now as Empress of a damned realm, or perhaps because of that, she lusts for revenge on the woman made to replace her. 

Recently, it has become even worse. She knows now what Mileena is planning. By now, the heir of Shao Kahn is no longer an undead shade. Approximately a few days ago, she has managed to cheat death. Even now Quan Chi is gone, he left plenty of unholy magic behind. Magic lying around in his abandoned lairs, waiting for someone to find and use it. It’s exactly what she did. She restored herself with dark magic and that crime is unforgivable to the new Empress of the Netherrealm. She has abandoned her rule temporarily with the sole purpose to track Mileena down and return her to death and subjugation once more.

Kitana has been hounding her for the Elder Gods know how long now. Alone, away from her Emperor Liu Kang and her Revenant adherents. Mileena assumes this is because she wants to kill her personally, without any chance of someone else delivering the final blow. So she hunts her relentlessly, spouting foul words and insults along the way. Though in earnest, Mileena finds that she fears the blades on Kitana’s fan more than the things she says. Has no one ever told her that words lose their sting when used too many times?

Whenever her mind is not occupied by staying ahead of her pursuer, Mileena spends a lot of her time thinking. Being stuck in a world where days barely seems to pass gives one plenty of time for that. Even a mind as frenzied and twisted as hers can find time to think here and when she does, the things she thinks about aren’t pleasant.

First, she thinks about herself. Her existence and her reason of being. She was created to be the perfect daughter of Shao Kahn. But is she truly? Her face does not match Kitana’s beauty, mangled by horrible Tarkatan teeth. Her thoughts are plagued by blackouts filled with mindless hunger and slaughter that she can barely control. Often, she is hardly aware of it when they happen and the world simply turns red. Is that truly a trait desirable for an heir? For someone who holds the wellbeing of an entire realm in her hands?

That line of thought always brings her back to Shao Kahn. Her “father” or at least the man who ordered her creation. She adored him, worshipped him and would have gladly killed for him. She mourned his death with bitter tears. Yet as of late, she started doubting whether this kind of affection was ever returned. All throughout her existence, she was simply following orders. Never once had there been praise or even the slightest token of affection. No, there were always orders, even after he was gone. A set of things she had to do. Kill Kitana. Kill her father’s enemies. Kill Earthrealmers. 

The only difference after his death was that the orders changed. Succeed her father. Rule an Empire. Be a tyrant to its people. She worked to fulfill all of them, but now there is nothing to occupy her mind but running, she wonders if she was even fit for that kind of life, whether all these things she was told to do were truly things that made her happy to begin with. She was a child trying to please her father, but had her father ever taken her feelings in consideration? Had he truly considered her as anything but a useful lackey? Had he even truly considered her an heir, obsessed as he was with his own conquest and godhood? Had she disappointed him, would he have thrown her aside just like he did Kitana?

Just then, she can hear her “sister” call her. “I know you are here somewhere, freak! I know what you stole from Nekros! Someone like you does not deserve to return to the living! You are not getting out of here! You will never escape!”

Mileena steals a quick glance at the scroll and amulet she holds and the jade pendant around her neck. She only recently acquired it. When she first arrived in the Netherrealm after her death by D’Vorah’s hand, she was nothing but a weakened shade. An easy prey for an angered Kitana and she would have most likely been dragged back to Shinnok’s Spire for eternal torture had…something not watched over her that day. 

She had heard a voice, however faint, that urged her to run. To hide. It pleaded with her to not resign to her fate. It told her that there was a way out of here. Now, she wonders if it was simply a product of her own twisted mind. After all, she has not heard the voice since. Still, even now, she can’t help but mull about how different it sounded from her own. Still, she had obeyed it. She had run and fled from Kitana and continued to listen to the voice as it taught her to evade the threats of this damned place. For reasons she could not understand, she had listened, even when it put forward the mad idea to travel to Nekros, the hellish city of Sorcerers in the Netherrealm.

So, she traveled to the abomination and after lingering there, she started hearing whispers. Quan Chi’s lair in this wretched facsimile of a town held many interesting books and scrolls. They contained secrets and forbidden knowledge. This included, some said, the secret to return a dead soul back to life. The voice had whispered to her that this was true as well. In most cases, Mileena would have been skeptical. Still, she knew Quan Chi had been capable of returning Sindel to life and she didn’t have the luxury of sitting back and contemplating the rumor’s validity. She had to find a way to leave Kitana’s domain permanently and preferably as fast as she could.

As such, she had put her all into infiltrating the old fortress. She had often followed the directions of the voice and much to her surprise, it had guided her to where she needed to be. Her surprise was immeasurable when she indeed found scrolls on resurrecting the dead and the arcane equipment for it to work. It truly seemed that Quan Chi was a lot more powerful than she or Shao Kahn suspected. At the same time, however, she started feeling hope again. There was a way to escape the Netherrealm, to escape her “sister’s” murderous rage. 

She had not wasted time and performed the ritual on the spot. It took her all of her concentration and care to properly conduct the unfamiliar magic and the process of her body gaining tissue and flesh was even more painful than flesh-eating bugs consuming her face. Even so, the feeling of her beating heart under her fingers was enough to cope with all the pain and exhaustion one could endure. She was beside herself with joy when she found herself back in a living body, but as always, nothing that was good lasted for long in the Netherrealm.

It appeared some of Kitana’s hounds had tracked her down to the stronghold, ready to put her down at a moment’s notice. Once again, she had heeded the whispers of the strange voice, listening to its advice to take the arcane equipment, as well as a strange jade and golden pendant that just seemed to call out to her. She barely escaped with her newly acquired life, some rags to cover her and the items that had saved her, fleeing back into the many shadows of the dead. From then on, the hunt became more fervent and her next goal more urgent. She would need to find one of the rare portals in this realm and leave as fast as she could. Before the dark nature of this place would consume her and turn her mind more feral and mad than it already was. 

For days, she has been looking for a portal now, without much luck. An exit out of Hell is sparse, it seems, but she isn’t willing to give up now. All that waits her is eternal torture if she stays and she has unfinished business in Outworld. Both are pretty powerful motivators to keep moving and even Kitana seems to know this, though she seems to heavily disagree.

“Give up, half-breed! There is nothing for you to go back to! Outworld rejoiced at your death! Your rebellion is dead. Kotal Kahn reigns now and you will never regain the throne you never even deserved!”

Mileena bites back the annoyed scoff that might have given her away. As if she doesn’t know these things, bitterly so. Yet it’s not like her “sister” offers her a better alternative. Besides, after all the endless thinking she’s been doing, she doubts her desperation to leave has anything to do with wanting to rule again. Rather, it’s all about simply wanting to live.

So she stays quiet and tries to tune out Kitana’s taunts. She listens and soon her patience is rewarded. Her unusual Tarkatan hearing picks up on a deep humming. Her heart leaps that instant. A portal! One not too far away if she can pick up on its sound at all. A way out…

She tries to determine Kitana’s location one last time by peering over the rock she is hiding behind. The Empress of the Netherrealm is still frantically looking for her, but she is in no way blocking her way to the portal. Should she risk it? Risk being seen and being chased? She contemplated her options. She was always the faster one, but she doesn’t doubt that Kitana’s control over air can lend itself to some nasty tricks. Even so, the portal won’t be here forever and when it leaves, only the Elder Gods know when and where it will reappear. And right now, she doesn’t have time to spare.

Then and there, she makes her decision. She glances around one last time to determine the coast is clear. She then hurls her body away from the rocks and starts running. 

Her bare feet thud loudly onto the hard, unnatural soil. Her feet re now so calloused that they barely feel its heat. The rags she wears flop over her body, hindering her as she dashes forward. She tries to ignore it. She’s so close. So close to freedom. So close to escaping. It doesn’t even matter right now if it’s her old throne with Kotal Kahn on it on the other side. Anything is better than remaining here. 

“Found you!”

A chill sets into her bones at hearing Kitana’s shrill, bloodthirsty voice. She can hear footsteps thunder in her direction, moving swift as the wind itself. Adrenaline pulses through her veins as she speeds towards the portal. Only a few more feet, she urges herself. That’s all it will take. Only a few more feet and she will be somewhere where the Empress of the Netherrealm cannot follow.

A gust of wind suddenly yanks her feet from under her. She finds herself lifted into the air, only for the ground to come close again at an alarming pace. A grunt escapes her twisted mouth as she slams against the surface and her head spins. She tries to scramble up, pure survival instinct urging her forward, only to duck as a razor sharp fan sails over her.

She looks into the direction it came from and flinches. Kitana is approaching her, almost lazily so yet with undeniable poise. The blue veins bulge in her clenched fists. Her red eyes scream murder. She is truly an Empress, Mileena realizes. The Empress of the Damned, splendid and terrifying all at once. 

Finally, she manages to find her feet. She brings up her fists in a vain effort to fend off her assailant, even though she knows it will likely not do her any good. How she wishes she had her sais. That would even the odds somewhat…

Her eyes dart towards Kitana’s fans, spread out with their blades glistening in the unnatural light. “You really thought you could escape me that easily, half-breed?”

Despite herself, Mileena feels a snarl escape from her mouth. “I came this far, didn’t I?”

That wasn’t the smartest thing to say. She can see Kitana’s face contort into anger. She barely leaps out of the way as her “sister” charges at her.

“And this is where I’ll end you again!”

A storm of slashes rains down on Mileena. She isn’t quick enough to dodge all of them and screams as the fan’s blade tear at her flesh. She can feel the blood pour down the wounds and does her best to avoid any more damage. Her hands ball into fists as she fights back, determined to keep the life she so recently acquired.

She grins when she manages to land a blow on Kitana’s jaw. She can feel the bone dislocate and shatter and follows up with a knee to the solar plexus. The move briefly stuns her opponent, but before she can go in for another attack, a gust of wind knocks her back. 

Still, she isn’t about to give up so quickly. She charges in once more. Her “sister” sends another fan her way and she rolls to avoid it. She crashes into her as she tries to stand, knocking her to the ground once more. Using all her strength, Mileena pins her and starts smashing her fists against her face.

The former princess of Edenia puts up a lot of resistance, but even if she is pleading, Mileena doesn’t listen. It’d be a farce anyway. All she knows is that Kitana needs to be out of play, dead or subdued, before she can make her escape. She isn’t going to stop until her adversary is no longer moving; else every attempt to reach the portal will be in vain.

Too late does she notice the sound of steel being drawn. Metal pierces skin and she can feel the air drain from her lungs. She looked down and horror takes over as she finds a fan sticking out her abdomen. Her eyes then go back to Kitana’s evilly smirking face and she knows then and there that she has been careless.

The headbutt comes so rapidly she has no way to defend herself. The back of her head slams against the hard ground and she can feel herself getting disorientated. She tries to lift her head and scramble to her feet, only to find long fingers digging into her throat. Her eyes meet those of her “sisiter’s” and immeasurable dread sinks into every part of her being.

“I want kill you with my own hands…”

Desperately, Mileena claws at Kitana’s face and hands. The Empress, however does not budge and applies more grip as she struggles. Darkness is starting to gather at the edges of the half-Tarkatan’s vision and in the middle, she can see her opponents foul mouth move.

“You thought you could escape? You thought you could outmatch me? You’re just a miserable half-breed, weak and unfit to live! My father, Tanya’s family, Jade… They were all pathetic and weak. And it is here that the weak perish. Especially abominations like you!”

The anger she feels at those words urge her to keep resisting, but it becomes increasingly hard to do so as the lack of oxygen increases. The hateful words buzz through her rapidly ceasing mind and even though she feels she doesn’t have long, she can’t help but contemplate them. Particularly that last name she mentioned…

Jade… Who was Jade again? She searches her frenzied mind for several seconds before she remembers. Kitana’s friend; the assassin clad in green. The one who boasted she was more of a sister than Mileena was. Confusion washes over her. Did Kitana not actually like her? Were they not close? It doesn’t make sense to her. Were they actually lying all this time or rather…

“No. Not her. It’s not her.”

Suddenly, she hears the voice again. It’s practically screaming at her now. It sounds shocked, horrified and sad. Why, she doesn’t understand, but as her life ticks away, she does understand something else.

With renewed strength, she wills one of her hands to move up as fast as she can. In all her self-confident hatred, Kitana is caught unaware. The backhand hits her square in the face, breaking her nose, and the pressure on Mileena’s throat ceases. She gasps for breath, coughing madly as she drags herself away. Even so, she forces herself to speak the words of her new revelation.

“You are not Kitana…”

She can feel the Empress glare at her. “What?”

Mileena pushes herself to stand. She straightens her back despite her wobbly legs. She rubs her still sore throat, feeling how the bruises start to form. Her eyes shoot fire at the person who’s responsible and while her voice sounds hoarse, every word she speaks is laced with venom. 

“You heard me, Revenant! You are not Kitana of Edenia! You are some foul construct of Quan Chi’s! You are made from her soul, but you are nothing but a foul clone of what she once was!”

Her words hit home. The Empress rips off her mask and Mileena sees the blood spurt down her face. It only makes her looks scarier, like one of those monstrous vampires from the realm of Vaeturnus. Still, she thinks her “sister” easily tops Nitara when it comes to sheer evil.

“I am far more powerful than the woman I once was! The Netherrealm has made me strong! I now rule the most powerful Realm in existence and I will crush anyone in my way! Especially you!”

Now consumed by rage, she speeds over. Yet this time, Mileena is ready. She expertly dodges the fans and the gusts of air thrown her way, watching her opponent’s every move. Soon, Kitana is upon her, but before she can even hit her, the half-Tarkatan strikes. 

Making use of her adversary’s blind anger, she grabs hold of both her arms. She raises her feet and without hesitation, she slams them down on Kitana’s knees. The bones crack and her opponent is downed with a painful wail. Despite her best efforts, she sinks to feet and for a moment, the former Kahnum can see panic flash across her face. 

Her own remains without expression as she yanks the fans out of her “sister’s” hands. She quickly realizes she’s robbed of her last chance to defend herself and Mileena finds herself subjected to the most hateful icy stare she ever saw. She herself, however, finds that for the first time, she cannot return it. 

Is this truly Kitana? The Princes of Edenia, whom she aspired to be like? Whom she tried to emulate in an effort to replace her? She finds it hard to conceive of. Hearing Shao Kahn talk, she had always thought her “sister” perfection incarnate, but now she sees her for what she truly is. Whatever is left of her is violent, troubled, as marked by her time under Shao Kahn as she is. Yet most of all, Mileena feels she’s broken and bitter.

She finds herself sighing. Is it…pity she feels? She cannot know for certain. She is surprised at her own calmness as she speaks, but she can’t help but be surprised at the sadness in her own words.

“To think that I ever wanted to be you. That I would be happy if only I was more like you… When did you stop dreaming of Edenia? Of fighting fate? You have lost yourself to this realm! I once thought you were a standard I had to attain! But all I see is something even uglier than people say I am…”

The former Kahnum never before realized that words can sometimes cut deeper than a sai. Even she can feel the pain that flashes across Kitana’s face. She doesn’t understand why, but her words apparently wound her. And for some reason, it makes her feel strangely empowered.

This moment of weakness on the Empress’s part does not last long. Soon, pure hatred returns to her gaze. Her answer comes out in a hiss, the dignity lost in calm fury. 

“Well, what are you waiting for? You got me, you half-breed! Now finish it! Tear me to shreds like the animal you are! Incur Liu Kang’s wrath! Get it over with!”

The animal inside Mileena leaps at that taunt. Oh, how she’d love to do it. How she’d love to tear this miserable woman apart. Taste her flesh. Hear her dying screams. What sweet revenge that would be, to tear the Undead Empress of the Netherrealm apart here and now. 

There is another part of her, however, that speaks out against it. It’s that part of her that steadily grew over the course of her rebellion. That has been growing ever since she became trapped in this wretched place. A strange ability to see a bigger picture, to contemplate consequences and to see beyond her own primal emotions and needs. Even now it’s a novel feeling, but as before, she decides to listen to it anyway. The words come to her easily as she looks down at her sister and feels unable to even muster an angry frown.

She shakes her head. “No. I won’t.”

Kitana’s look is a mixture of slight surprise and murderous wrath, but she continues nonetheless. “I will spare you, so you will have to live with the knowledge that someone like me was capable of mercy when you weren’t.”

With those words, she walks away towards the portal. Kitana, however, doesn’t want to let her off so easily. She drags herself across the coarse ground, biting back the pain as vile words are spat from her bleeding mouth. 

“Then you are even more pathetic than I thought. What kind of assassin spares a life because of convoluted poetics? You do not deserve to live.”

Mileena still deigns herself to give her “sister” one last look. “Yet I live and you remain here.”

There is no answer this time. The Empress of the Netherrealm has fallen silent. For a moment, Mileena wonders why. What it is about her words that silences her so profoundly? She doesn’t know and frankly, has no time to contemplate. She is done here, having said all there is to say about the situation at hand. The portal is close now. Freedom waits. Freedom from this wretched realm and a freedom of self that Kitana cannot hope to ever comprehend. 

She takes a deep breath as she steps through the portal. A gust of cool wind and warm sunlight greet her on the other side. Both are enough of a sensation to hurt her eyes and she squeezes them shut. She still hears the thrumming of the portal behind her, its intensity increasing before it fades away. The passage to the Netherrealm is severed and it takes several moments before she truly realizes this and dares to open her eyes. 

She finds herself greeted with what looks like a large courtyard. The place is tranquil and cool, built in such a way shadows harbor her from the midday sun. It is beautiful, yet it does not stir any sense of recognition in her. Something tells her she’s not back in Outworld. The architecture is similar to ancient structures she once encountered in Earthrealm. 

“We’re probably in China. Southern provinces. I have been in an old temple like this before.”

She jumps when she hears the voice once more. Still, where she previous wondered if it was her crazed mind hearing things that weren’t there, that theory is now shattered. She senses someone beside her that wasn’t there before and she whips around startled.

Next to her is a being comprised of green energy. A dark-skinned woman of her own height, clad in the armor belonging to Shao Kahn’s assassins. Mileena doesn’t have to guess who she is. She knows and she finally understands.

“Jade…”

The apparition smiles behind her ethereal mask. “Honestly, I did not expect you to make it. Or get me out for that matter. Your resilience is more impressive than I imagined.”

The half-Tarkatan doesn’t answer straight away. She looks her over curiously. There is something off about Jade and she feels that needs to be addressed first.

“How did you get here? You’re dead, but you don’t seem like a Revenant.”

She nods. “Indeed I’m not. I’m simply a shade, tied to that gold and jade amulet you brought with you. I think Quan Chi saw me as a threat, especially in controlling Kitana. He gave my soul to one of the demons from his Brotherhood of Shadows who trapped me in there. Though I am quite surprised you listened to my voice instead of ignoring me.”

Mileena gives her a wry, hesitant smile, still not certain about her unexpected companion. “You helped me escape. That’s reason enough. Still, what does it help you to be here? You’re still trapped in there.”

Almost instantly, Jade point to the scroll. “Not for long. You hold the materials and know the ritual to return a deceased soul to life. You can resurrect me. After that, we can go to the Special Forces. Enlist their help and protection.”

The moment Jade mentions the Special Forces, Mileena can feel cold shivers across her body. She remembers the champions from Earthrealm. They murdered Shao Kahn. They stood by when the Usurper took her throne and later hunted her down as his ally. Even if she now doubts whether her loyalty to her father, as well as her rule, was just, she doesn’t doubt that these people would kill her on the spot or hand her over to Kotal. 

She can’t help but voice this. “I don’t think Earthrealm’s warriors would exactly welcome me with open arms…”

The assassin isn’t deterred. “They will if you are with me. I’ll vouch for you. Don’t expect a warm welcome, but they will probably not kill you, if only because I request so. And especially not with the bargaining chip you hold.”

Mileena has to admit Jade makes a fair point. Still, she can’t help but question everything that’s going on. She is not entirely sure about the assassin’s intentions and with good reason. She knows Jade despises her almost as much as her “sister” and she sees no reason why she would work together with her.

“Your loyalty to Kitana goes deep, Jade. Why would you trust her clone?”

Almost immediately, she’s treated to a cool look. “I do not. But you are the one holding the key to bringing back my friend. So I have little choice.” 

Suddenly a sigh leaves her mouth. “Also, there in the Netherrealm… I thought you would kill her. Tear her apart. But you showed restraint, of your own accord. You spared her. So I want to believe you’re not beyond redemption. I have to. For Kitana’s sake and all of my fallen allies…”

Mileena stays silent. Once upon a time, as a Kahnum, she would have ordered the death of anyone who didn’t show her complete loyalty. Still, she is no longer Empress of Outworld, her allies are gone and she is stranded in enemy territory. She needs to work with whatever scraps she can get.

Also, she can’t help but notice the other thing Jade says. That perhaps, she is not as bad as everyone says she is. Not an abomination or something to put down. But a being who deserves a chance, however unlikely.

She bitterly realizes this is the kindest thing someone has ever said to her. Even if it’s brutally honest and with only the bare minimum of respect, it is an acknowledgement of her as a person. She decides to take it for what it is. It’s as good as she will get for now and as of the moment, all she needs. 

She nods and smiles behind her mask. “I appreciate your honesty, Jade. Let us work together for our mutual benefit then, so we will survive. Let us go seek out your allies then and take this treacherous road, wherever it might lead us…”

The assassin returns her gesture. She begins to walk, looking for a place to conduct the ritual that will return her to life. Mileena watches her, deciding to wait until she is needed. Besides, she needs time to think about all that has transpired in the last few months.

She has escaped death and her enemies in the Netherrealm and soon, she will have to face her sworn foes in the world of the living. She doesn’t look forward to it. Her ever-changing mind, growing more complex by the day, seems already hard enough to deal with. She is still torn between beauty and beast and navigating her way. She is not sure how she will handle being in the company of wolves. 

On the other hand, she is aware she doesn’t have much choice. The dream of an Empire in Outworld is gone, was never truly hers to begin with. All she can do right now is move forward and play the hand she is dealt. She will have to trust her new, unlikely allies and see what a life without influence of Shao Kahn or Kitana may hold.

Odd as it seems, however, she feels some sense of excitement at that. A feeling of uncertain anticipation. The combination of a racing heart and a stomach filled with butterflies. She wonders if that is how true freedom feels or at least the ability to make a decision of her own. She can’t tell for sure, but she tells herself that after she restores Jade and they make their way to the Special Forces, they will find out.

Perhaps her destiny was not to be a Kahnum. It doesn’t matter. After all, what had that title been but a dream to become Kitana? No, she is no longer basing her hopes and dreams on replacing another. 

She is Mileena. The Half-Tarkatan. The warrior. The woman who led a rebellion that almost brought a Usurper to its knees. She is going to affect this world one way or another and she will now do so without aspiring to be anyone else, except the best she can be.


End file.
